The present invention is generally directed to a fluid flow valve assembly, and more particularly to a valve assembly for a sprinkler wet standpipe used to monitor and optionally control water released to downstream sprinklers of a fire suppression sprinkler system.
Fire suppression sprinkler systems designed for protection of commercial and non-commercial properties include some combination or all of a control valve, a check valve, a water flow detection switch, a test valve, a drain valve and a pressure relief valve. A control valve is utilized to allow water flow to the sprinklers downstream thereof to be shut off, e.g., for maintenance purposes. A check valve retains fluid and pressure downstream in the fire protection system so that during periods such as supply side system maintenance, fluid and pressure are retained in the system downstream of the check valve. A flow detection switch is utilized at least to sound an alarm when the sprinklers are activated. A test valve is utilized for testing of the sprinkler system and a drain valve is utilized for draining the sprinkler system, e.g., also for maintenance purposes. A pressure relief valve is utilized to ensure that the water pressure within the sprinkler system does not surpass a safe level.
These items are available individually from various commercial suppliers. Conventionally, the test and drain valves, the pressure relief valve and the water flow detection switch are mounted separately to respective conduits along a large manifold/network of piping proximate the control valve and/or check valve during installation of sprinkler systems. Consequently, the manifold of piping of the sprinkler system has a relatively large footprint, is costly to manufacture and is both time consuming, complicated and costly to assemble. As one example, the largest sprinkler system control valves (eight inches or more in diameter), in combination with the piping manifold, conduits and accessories mounted thereon, typically weigh several hundred pounds.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to manufacture a modular valve assembly having a compact footprint, with the control valve, the check valve, the flow detection switch, the test valve, the drain valve and a pressure relief module, or some combination thereof, mounted thereto, thereby eliminating the large manifold of piping and the associated footprint, as well as minimizing the cost and time of manufacture and complex assembly thereof.